The World Baseball Classic was created for games like this.
Paul Skenes and Team USA will take on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s Dominican Republic squad in the semifinals of the international baseball tournament on Sunday in Miami (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT).
It's a battle between two former champions with several MLB all-stars among them.
The Americans nearly missed out on the knockout stage after a loss to Italy left them relying on other results to get through.
However, they indeed advanced and went on to topple pool winner Canada 5-3 in Friday's quarterfinals.
The Dominicans have had an easier time of things, romping through group play with a 4-0 record and plus-31 run differential before routing Korea 10-0 in the quarterfinals.
Guerrero Jr. has found himself at the centre of his country's explosive offence, hitting .500 with two home runs and eight RBIs in just four games. Near equal has been Fernando Tatis Jr., who carries a .438 batting average, two home runs and 11 RBIs into the semifinals.
In total, five Dominicans with at least 10 at-bats are hitting at least .300 and with on-base percentages of at least .444.
Their 51 total runs are 11 more than second-place Italy and the U.S., while their 14 dingers also lead the tournament.
But the Dominican offence will face its toughest test yet in Cy Young winner Skenes, who went four scoreless innings with just one hit and one walk while striking out seven in his first appearance against Mexico.
A dominant bullpen behind Skenes includes fireballer Mason Miller and recent Blue Jays additions Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman.
At the plate, Aaron Judge and Pete Crow-Armstrong lead the Americans with two homers apiece, while the likes of Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Schwarber and Roman Anthony are all hitting at least .300.
They'll be up against Dominican starter Luis Severino, who allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts over four innings in his pool-play outing against the Netherlands.
The winner of the high-powered clash between the United States will meet either Italy or Venezuela in the final on Tuesday.
Both clubs are looking for their second WBC victories, with the Dominican having won in 2013 and the U.S. in 2017. Japan, which was upset by Venezuela in the quarterfinals, has won the other three editions of the event.
